first edition of an important map, with interesting provenance. "The Arrowsmith map was a monument. . . . It pictured the Northwest as it had not been pictured before"--Wheat 403 (lists 1834 as the first edition). "The first map to show accurately the relative positions of the Columbia and Snake rivers"--Schwartz & Ehrenberg, pages 247 and 253.
The map's case bears the name of Duncan Finlayson (1795-1862), who was a chief factor for the Hudson's Bay Company and was based at Fort George with the Columbia River Department from 1833 to 1837. It was apparently given in 1835 or 1836 to the Rev. Samuel Parker, who went west with the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. When Parker published his memoir of the trip, he called Finlayson a friend and described walking a bit of the Oregon coast with him at Fort George / Astoria in June 1836 (see page 356 in the 1846 edition). The map was passed down along with other family papers to Rev. Parker's great-great-granddaughter.
Provenance: Rev. Samuel Parker to his daughter Jerusha Parker Whaley Van Kirk (1816-1908); her daughter Helen Jerusha Whaley Mack (b. 1850); her son Laurence Alexander Mack (1883-1965); his daughter Margery Parker Mack Mead; sold to the consignor circa 2003. with--a manuscript commonplace book kept by Rev. Parker's daughter Jerusha in Ithaca and Homer, NY, 1830-35 7 small paintings and drawings, some initialed JP, 1829-40 and undated 2 letters from Henry Webster Parker to sister Jerusha, 1867 and 1873 friendship memento drawn for Jerusha Lord Parker, 1812 and a second edition of Samuel Parker's "Journal of an Exploring Tour Beyond the Rocky Mountains." See "Mr. F" referenced on pages 185 and 347. This copy is included for reference, but does not share the family provenance. Ithaca, NY, 1840.